


Living Happens Wherever You Are

by Einzel



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi, all violence pertains to the state of the outside world, post-mutual killing, reluctant but budding friendships are beautiful
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Einzel/pseuds/Einzel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The six graduates of the School Life of Mutual Killing take survival to a whole new level by braving the hellish outside world until Future Foundation is able to rescue them. Hagakure lights a spark. Fukawa eventually starts a fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Living Happens Wherever You Are

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Livi aka zenonaa @ tumblr / Ao3, one of my oldest anime fandom friends! She is a wonderful writer, so to those of you reading this: after you read this chapter and maybe give it some kudos and comments (wink, wink), check out her writing blog and Ao3 profile for a host of great Danganronpa fic! Livi, I am so happy I can call you my friend, and I hope that you will enjoy this first chapter, and that the second one coming soon will make it all worth it!
> 
> If you squint, your name is in the title. It was unintentional at first, but when I realized, it made me giggle, so I kept this title. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the kind reader who pointed out that I was all over the place with their names: I thought about this a lot and edited the chapter so everyone is called uniformly by their surnames. Thank you, and here's to hoping that updating this chapter gives me another push towards finishing it, because Livi deserves it.

When Naegi Makoto stepped forward at the entrance to lead his friends into the open, he thought he was prepared for the future. But to owe the truth, if only to himself, he had allowed hope to shield his mind from despair to the very last. Standing in front of the steel bulkhead as he did, having survived the unimaginable, yet something unmistakably real, he still had the audacity to hope the images of that video were a forgery. While at the mercy of Hope’s Peak, he could convince himself that the thorny remarks of their captor, big and small, were nothing but ugly lies… until, having crossed the threshold of freedom, there was no one left to accuse of trying to deceive him. Once the blinding glare of the outside world dissolved, the first scene of carnage met his eyes with the force of a stab to the heart.

A stretch of cracked pavement littered with corpses and splattered with blood, scorched dull brown by a sun that poured its rays over living and dead without prejudice.

A mangled steel fence, torn apart where several vehicles collided in brutal combustion, whether by design or accident, Naegi couldn’t tell. Their charcoal wrecks found eternal rest in the forgiving embrace of rusted tendrils.

A few meters away, a withered tree struck down by the shockwave of the explosion reached out its gnarled branches towards him like bony fingers, begging for water as if the splinter of bark still connecting its mutilated halves might allow it to survive.

The stench of decay, new and old, scratched at his nostrils. Behind him, Fukawa reeled with a queasy moan on the verge of fainting.

How did Enoshima Junko put it?

_It’s bad… The world is in bad shape…_

_And there you have it…_

* * *

_What now?_

That question, first uttered by Hagakure after he caught and steadied a staggering Fukawa, soon became a catchphrase among the six survivors.

It was whispered in dread by Fukawa as they reached an intersection flooded with debris. ( _Don’t stop, keep moving_ , urged Kirigiri.)

It was mumbled hesitantly by Asahina in front of the broken windows of a derelict pastry shop. ( _Take what food you can find, then keep going_ , ordered Togami.)

It was posed by Naegi near the remains of what might have been a playground before some deadly assault. ( _This way_ , pointed Togami.)

…and repeated again once they reached what appeared to be a run-down police station, abandoned just like everything else seemed to be.

“Is it not obvious?” replied Togami with a smart push of his glasses, internally congratulating himself on having an impeccable memory of this particular district in Tokyo. “We will take shelter in this building until we are able to establish a connection with the outside world.”

“Why a police station, though?” shuddered Hagakure. “I don’t know about you guys, but the idea of those underground torture chambers gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Is that familiarity speaking?” quipped Togami. Hagakure huffed indignantly. Togami rolled his eyes. “Try using that vacuous head of yours for a change. Any given police station in the metropolis boasts highly advanced radio equipment. If it is operational, we will search for a signal and await rescue. If it isn’t, we will restore the equipment and send a signal ourselves.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” asked Kirigiri with a small, content smile, igniting a spark of hope in Naegi’s heart.

A moment later, Kirigiri stepped forward, accompanying their fearless leader to the entrance. The others followed suit with mixed feelings, though all of them thought something the same.

The last time they entered a building…

 _No._ That “last” time was actually the first of many in the course of two years spent at Hope’s Peak, two precious years that had been taken from them forever, just to complete Ikusaba Mukuro’s disguise.

* * *

They hardly knew what they expected, but found to their surprise that the interior of the police station survived Tokyo’s demise in acceptable condition. Signs of a scuffle glared at them from every direction, ranging from long, deep claw marks on the walls to police files and garbage scattered on the floors, but the main office looked largely intact, and the radio equipment only moderately damaged.

“Repairs will be in order, then,” observed Togami, “as well as restoring power to this facility, granted a source of electricity is still available.”

“The station probably has an emergency generator in the basement,” offered Kirigiri. “I suspect there is still a steady supply of electricity in the area. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to run the air purification system and surveillance equipment at Hope’s Peak.”

“So we have to go down to the basement after all?!” trembled Hagakure. “N-No way!”

“The basement can wait. Right now, it’s time to move on to the next stage,” declared Togami, whose words were met with startled looks on all sides.

“W-Wait a minute, what do you mean?!” whined Hagakure in growing alarm. “Are we going back outside or something? It’s like a demon’s barbeque out there!”

“Some of us are, but you’re not one of them,” replied Togami calmly. “What little expertise you possess will be required here.”

“Expertise…?” mumbled Hagakure, scratching at the back of his head in confusion. “What, you want me to tell your fortune, Togamicchi? Well, we’re pals and all, and I did promise I would do it for fr—”

“ _Spare me,_ ” interrupted Togami, now dangerously low on patience. “Remember when I found the dysfunctional Monokuma unit at the gym?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You assisted us in taking it apart. If you could manage that, then I can reasonably expect you to be of use in repairing the radio equipment. We will start by assessing the state of the equipment. After that, we can search for tools.”

“Aaah, so that’s what you meant,” sighed Hagakure, his grin thoroughly relieved. “I’ll see what I can do!”

“While you do that, I will investigate the surrounding area,” spoke Kirigiri, her calm, quiet voice drawing the others’ attention with remarkable ease. “The more we discover of what really happened to this city, the better.”

Having informed them of her decision, she was ready to leave their circle, had it not been for a hand seizing her wrist with tender force just as she had turned around.

“Kirigiri-san!” cried Naegi, to whom the hand belonged. She glanced back at him, features guarded. He flushed.

“I’ll come with you,” Naegi said at last, his voice now sufficiently steady. “Two pairs of eyes are better than one, after all… right?”

His words gave Kirigiri pause, but in the end, she graced him with a small smile.

“Very well, Naegi-kun. I accept,” she replied, her eyes flitting briefly to his hand. He promptly released her, then shuffled to her side looking strangely cheerful.

“Good luck, you two!” said Hagakure with a quick, casual salute. Togami merely nodded in approval.

“What about Fukawa-chan and me?” volunteered Asahina, even raising her arm to grab their attention. Fukawa, on the other hand, flinched violently at her sudden inclusion and shrank behind Asahina at once, her hands wringing one of her braids.

“Someone needs to forage for supplies,” replied Togami after a moment’s consideration.

“Forage… for supplies..?” came the unsure reply. Togami rolled his eyes.

“We will need food and water if we are going to remain here for a while,” he explained to her, gesturing vaguely to the walls as if to indicate the police station. “Everyone around us may be assumed dead or missing, which means that anything useful we find is free for the taking.”

“I... suppose,” mumbled Asahina, who seemed to wrestle with her conscience for a moment, then flashed them a brave, determined smile. “Well, I can run pretty fast, so I should be okay out there! Leave it to me!”

“H-Hey, what about me?” spat Fukawa all of a sudden, spooking Asahina into wheeling around to face her. Fukawa’s fingers curled into anxious claws by her side as she lifted her other hand to jab a finger at Asahina. “Wh-What menial work do you expect _me_ to do?!”

Asahina stared at her apologetically, though she hardly knew what for.

“Um, you can stay here if you don’t want to come, Fukawa-chan!” she said in a soothing tone, donning her biggest smile. “I’ll be fine on my own!”

“Fukawa,” spoke Togami to her right. A moment of silence followed as Fukawa bit down on her lower lip, pulling her hands defensively to her chest.

“Y-Yes, Byakuya-sama?” she prompted under his watchful eye. Togami fixed his glasses.

“In order to survive, all six of us must contribute to our common goal,” he began, slowly turning from the others towards the busted radio equipment. “It doesn’t matter to me what you do, so long as it’s useful to our cause. Surely you are as capable as any one of us.”

Fukawa’s eyes grew large in surprise. Asahina gave her an encouraging hum.

“Then, how about you stay here, and look for a room for us to stay in, Fukawa-chan?” she proposed, but Fukawa huffed at her suggestion, then made an attempt to straighten as she turned to face Asahina again.

“Y-You just want to leave me behind, like a sack of rotten meat!” she spluttered next, pointing accusingly with a finger. “You t-think I’d be useless on the streets?! I’m not as weak as you think! I, I can protect myself if I have to! I’m j-just as good at running around as some swimming freak!” she snapped, coloring at her own bravado.

“ _Swimming freak?!_ ” shrieked Asahina, her cheeks flaring hot.

Togami cleared his throat.

“Fukawa.”

Fukawa relented. Togami narrowed his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest.

“If you insist on leaving this building, then accompany Asahina and forage for supplies.”

He paused. She hung on his words like a marionette from its strings.

“I am counting on you to bring back something useful.”

“Y-Yes! I will! You can definitely count on me, Byakuya-sama!” gushed Fukawa in raptures, fervently nodding at him even as she drew back to Asahina’s side, ready to be ushered back to the entrance.

* * *

To aid them in their quest, Togami gave Asahina and Fukawa precise directions for the nearest shopping center, but eager as Fukawa appeared to oblige him, braving the destruction outside proved no easy task. Hesitant as she had been in the first place, she soon found herself occasionally clinging to Asahina as they searched for safe footing in craters filled with debris, clambered over vehicles, broken lampposts or trashcans, and with alarming frequency, dodged human remains lying in their path.

Having made a humiliating spectacle of herself the very moment she stepped outside – or at least, so it seemed to Fukawa, though no one remarked on her display of weakness, and Hagakure’s arms supported her for a full minute without having been prompted to do such a thing –, Fukawa resolved not to repeat the incident again. The moment Asahina offered her arm for balance, Fukawa made liberal use of her services, screwing her eyes shut and ducking behind Asahina whenever a sudden gasp or strangled sound escaped her lips, alerting Fukawa to yet another gruesome scene.

It almost worked to the very end. Just as they turned around the very last corner, the two of them were greeted by the blackened remains of a car a few feet away, its burned driver dangling over the pavement from the front seat. Asahina froze without a sound, and in the absence of a warning, Fukawa found herself face to upside-down face with the corpse, its charred skin peeling off the skull in leathery strips.

Fukawa’s knees buckled. Had it not been for Asahina’s naturally honed reflexes, she would have crumpled on the ground.

“Fukawa-chan!” cried Asahina, pulling Fukawa into her arms. “Are you okay?!”

“The burns…” mumbled Fukawa, eyes pinched firmly shut as she clung to Asahina for support. “They.. reminded me of… Ikusaba Mukuro…”

Asahina turned her head, biting her lip at the name. With an arm still wrapped around Fukawa, she slowly coaxed her away from the car and towards the ruins of their destination, the demolished entrance of a supermarket on the corner of the shopping center. She hesitated. Fukawa was still taking deep breaths to compose herself, her arms now wrapped tightly around herself.

“Do you.. Do you ever wonder what she was like, Fukawa-chan?” began Asahina in a faraway tone. “Without our memories, we only knew her as Enoshima Junko, and she died so soon… I wonder what she was really like.”

“It’s no use wondering!” spat Fukawa. She finally managed to straighten in Asahina’s embrace, though she hadn’t stopped shaking or clutching her own arms. “We will p-probably never get our memories back… it’s no use wishing for the impossible..!”

“I sup-pose…” muttered Asahina in the hopes of placating her. It was Fukawa’s turn to pause.

“B-But suppose I entertained the idea, this idea of reminiscing about the past,” she carried on, almost glad to have something new on her mind. “D-Do you think that… perhaps…”

“Perhaps what?” asked Asahina, her brows arched in surprise at the other’s sudden willingness to engage in small talk. Fukawa’s lips bubbled at the edges.

“That perhaps Byakuya-sama and I were in love?!” she gurgled in a groan verging on sinful.

Asahina stared at her in shocked silence, giving Fukawa enough room to push forward.

“Right from the start, from the moment I saw him, a flurry of emotions stirred in my chest!” she gushed, her former tremors giving way to wild swaying from side to side as she tilted her head back. Asahina stared at her in growing discomfort, suddenly conscious she would not be able to stop Fukawa’s rambling even if she wanted to. “It was love at first sight! The weakness in my knees and the throbbing of my chest told me Byakuya-sama was special, that he was special to _me!_ Ohhh, just think of how in those two years, those strong, beautiful hands might have _roamed all ove-he-her meee…!_ ”

“I’d rather not, Fukawa-chan,” muttered Asahina in the smallest of voices, perfectly drowned out by Fukawa’s moans of delight. Asahina sighed. “Well, if you do like him, then that’s what counts, right?”

Fukawa stretched her next moan into a long hum of agreement. A few seconds passed in awkward silence. She finally released the crumpled sleeves of her sailor fuku.

“You d-do understand, don’t you?” she found herself stammering as she realized that she had never discussed matters of love in such detail with another girl before. Or another human being, for that matter. “Or did n-none of the men appeal to you?”

“Men? They were all just boys to me,” replied Asahina with a gentle roll of her eyes. “You know, I never really gave them any thought… of everyone, I liked spending time with Sakura-chan the most…”

Silence fell between them as Asahina lowered her eyes and Fukawa chewed her lip, unable to respond right away, not even to offer more praise of Byakuya-sama. Even in the midst of their school life of mutual killing, her white knight, her _darling_ survived. How would she feel if he had not, or worse, if he had been forced to die a traitor shunned by all and trusted by no one? Contemptible thought… what a horrible, contemptible thought…

“S-Sorry,” she found herself saying through gritted teeth. Asahina blinked at her, this time in pleasant surprise.

“But t-that’s what happens to people like _her_ ,” continued Fukawa in a tone strangely spiteful. “I, I could have _never_ become the mastermind’s lackey!”

“What are you saying?!” snapped Asahina, her cheeks painfully hot again. She clenched her fists, expecting to need a great deal of self-restraint to bear whatever Fukawa had to say about her friend, but instead Fukawa wrapped her arms around herself again and mumbled,

“I never had anyone who cared about me, and no one I cared about… the mastermind would have had _no one_ _to blackmail **me** with..!_ ”

She spat the words like she was expelling venom from her system. Asahina’s shoulders loosened.

“Ah,” she sighed in understanding, lifting her chin up to the sky as if that could stop the tears that stung her eyes. Sakura-chan did care too much, more than Asahina would ever know…

“You must think I’m pitiful,” sneered Fukawa next, reflexively. “That this is why I don’t want to remember those two years… Someone like me must have spent it alone, without any friends! I b-bet that’s what you think!”

“I don’t think that,” replied Asahina, her voice so artless Fukawa hardly knew what to make of it. “From those photos we received, it looked like everyone had a lot of fun. Well, maybe not Celes-chan, she was always standing to the side for some reason… but everyone else seemed to have fun! I’m sure we were all good friends.”

“W-With me?! _Impossible!_ ” wailed Fukawa, now scratching her head furiously as anxiety broke into an itch over her scalp. Asahina shook her head with a lenient smile.

“Come on now, Fukawa-chan,” she chided, pivoting on her heel towards the supermarket in the hopes of finding something to occupy herself. A tangle of toppled shopping carts caught her eye to the left of the building. Some of them seemed welded together by the melted plastic of their handles, but a row in the far back still stood on its wheels, good as new.

“Look!” pointed Asahina. “I bet one of these would be useful! We just have to find a way home that isn’t so bumpy and then we won’t have to carry anything!”

“But… they are locked down!” whined Fukawa, gesturing at the endmost cart. “They are useless if we don’t have any change..! We should have looked for some on the way… what will Byakuya-sama think of me for being so thoughtless..?!”

Asahina slapped her hands on her hips with a triumphant huff.

“Just watch me, Fukawa-chan!” she said in enviable poise, one hand reaching upward for the large clip pinning her front bangs into place. “I always wondered if this could work…”

What she was about to do could hardly be called a magic trick, yet Fukawa’s eyes fixed on the clip in astonishment, watching like a hawk as Asahina pushed her clip right into the coin slot. With one loud click, the chain of the cart flopped down, releasing the cart behind it.

“Shopping cart _get!_ ” chirped Asahina, who proceeded to yank the cart loose from the row with a grin, then swivel it around towards the demolished entrance of the supermarket, as though this were no more than her usual dystopian routine. “Let’s go, Fukawa-chan.”

Fukawa gaped like a fish at Asahina’s back for a moment longer, then rushed inside to follow her, scolding herself all the way for being so easily impressed by such unflappable confidence.


End file.
